By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The first peregrine falcon chick has hatched high atop a nest on the University at Buffalo's South Campus building Friday morning.
The peregrine falcons continue nesting each season in a nesting box in the tower of MacKay Heating Plant located on the South Campus of Winspear Avenue in Buffalo.
Brian Stouter, with UB's Facilities at the site, said just the mother falcon was in the nest as the chick emerged.
"The father stayed away. He was up on a perch 10 or 15 feet above. The mother sat back and watched them hatch," said Stouter.
UB is also building an area for the public to view the falcons.
"They're building a falcon visitor center. It's going to be a little kiosk on the falcons and updates for the public," said Stouter.
The building will be completed next week.
This spring the female falcon laid her eggs. Friday morning one of the eggs hatched.
The peregrine falcons are on the list of state endangered birds in Western New York.
It is the third consecutive year that the female peregrine has laid eggs in the nesting box at the South Campus.
UB has a Webcam that provides two camera angles from the box. One that looks directly at the falcons inside the box and another that looks out of the box.